the chief town of a shire or county of the same name, in Scotland, situated on the south bank of the river Clyde, about six miles below Glasgow, and three north-east of Paisley. It was made a burgh by David I., who began to reign in 1124, and is undoubtedly the most ancient town in Renfrewshire. In 1396 Robert III. raised it to the rank of a royal burgh, and it is the only place in the county which enjoys that distinction. The name is apparently derived from rhyn in the British, or rinn in the Gaelic, both meaning a point of land; and frew or frau, in the British, meaning a flow of water. This forms an apt description, the town being situated on a point of land near the conflux of the rivers Clyde and Cart. Assuming that the name Renfrew was anciently applied to the site of the burgh, it is easy to understand how it would be given to the burgh itself, and afterwards be extended first to the barony, and then to the sheriffdom.

Renfrew possesses considerable historical interest. Here Somerled, Lord of the Isles, who rose in rebellion against Malcolm IV., was defeated and slain in 1164. The family of Stewart had their common residence at this place before they were called to the throne. Even after that event Robert II., and probably also some of his successors, occasionally resided here. The mansion of the Stewarts no longer exists; but its site is still called "Castlehill," and near it is "the King's Meadow." In former times the waters of the Clyde separated into two branches at Renfrew, and formed an insular piece of ground, or buck, on which there stood another ancient edifice, called "the Inch Castle."

This town had once a little foreign trade. In a charter granted by James VI., in the year 1614, it is described as the principal port on the Clyde. A century later, its chief traffic was with Ireland. At present, some vessels in the inland trade load and unload at the harbour. About fifty years ago, a navigable canal was formed between the town and the river; and at the mouth of this canal a commodious quay was built in 1835, at an expense of about L800. Some salmon-fishings on the Clyde have long belonged to the burgh. The principal occupation of the inhabitants is handloom weaving, in which 561 persons were employed in the year 1836. That Renfrew has but little participated in the prosperity which commerce and manufactures have diffused all around, is evident from the fact, that the population of the parish, which in 1801 had amounted to 2031, had in 1831 increased to only 2833. It contains a constituency of ninety-five qualified voters, and is joined with Rutherglen, Dumbarton, Kilmarnock, and Port-Glasgow, in sending a member to parliament.